Quick thoughts on "Hip Hop y Mas"

Time to get back on the research wheel; my practical master's program is on summer vacation so I've lost my excuse for having a lazy mind.

I moved to Santa Barbara and am struggling to enjoy listening to the hip hop stations. They're exceptionally inferior to Los Angeles stations. My only guess is that they don't care about what hip hop songs are currently popular or are afraid to introduce too much new music.

Ventura County's 103.3 The Vibe has a really interesting motto. I think they've recently changed it to "103.3 The Vibe: The Beat of the Central Coast." It used to be "103.3 The Vibe: Hip Hop y Mas," though. It struck me the first time I saw a "103.3 Hip Hop y Mas" on the back of an old Toyota truck that the station (either intentionally or unintentionally) limited its audience by advertising in Spanish. Their target audience is communicated by their motto, and I think that by advertising in Spanish they alienate the English-only speakers.

I also think it's really ironic that the station (at least now) primarily plays music by African Americans although their motto is in Spanish. I checked their playlist; Pitbull & Paula Deanda are the only Hispanic artists out of a list of 25. I've always loved how Hip Hop crosses the ethnic boundry between African Americans and Hispanic Americans, but I think the radio's motto detracts from the power of the music to build bridges.